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Kdvanb... not a must have unless your going to bash it hard like a slash. If you stick to onroad running and dont bash into a ton of curbs youll probably be fine. If you do those things, might be cheaper to buy one than a pile of chassis.

BASH N SLASH... I havent noticed any extra heat with the cover... but its been below zero and snowy every time ive run with it so its not really a fair comparison. I never let my electronics get hot enough to melt anything so that wont be a problem. I will continue to run it in the summer to help keep the dirt out of the chassis. But im also planning to get a Jconcepts chassis cover to see how it works. Might not work with the brace on there now.

Heres a bit of an update. Just for fun. I was on ebay getting some parts for my mini summit build and the seller had Rally bodies for $50 with free shipping. So I picked one up. I have always liked the green with black wheels... so thats what I got. the wheels have a new set of stock tires.

I swapped over my little rally light bar from my blue/white body. This is the light bar meant for the 4X4 stampede. Mounts up with only 2 screws and looks pretty good on there IMO. I dont think it looks weird or anything. Planning on some head and tail light LEDS here pretty soon.

I didnt do any pics of my last set of upgrades. They are not at all exciting really. Just the usual stuff. But I had my camera out so i got some pics anyway.
Basically a full set of slash platinum bits. This was before the platinum LCG came out... but I just ordered one of those to scavenge some more parts from so this car will eventually have the new big bores on it.

This light set comes with all the necessary wires. It plugs into the "batt" channel on the RX, then just run the wire out of the waterproof cover of the RX box (where the servo wires exit) and secure it somewhere on the chassis. when you put your body on, you need to plug it in each time. Like a summit with its light bar. Not a big issue. Works great though.

this would make the lights on when ever plugged in and the car is turned on? right..... sorry noob to the hole led thing.. I'd like to be able to run the car with the lights off then turn them on from my 3rd channel on my Dx3R... Think I've found the part I need to do this... "a receiver controlled on off switch".. I found one on the "bay" for like $14.xx guess I'll see if I can get it to work when it comes in.... Let me know if you know of another way to do it also. Thanks

One more thing your light bar seems to have a curve to it. Like a droop in the middle and also an in and out bend. Is this how they are from Traxxas or did you bend them to make them look that way/ From the pics they seem to fit GREAT!!!

Pavmentsurfer, what are the wheel / tires that are in these pics? It looks like the Rally OEM rubber on different rims. Your lightbar rocks, BTW. I may have to do the same thing, as I never seem to get home before dark anymore...

Pavmentsurfer, what are the wheel / tires that are in these pics? It looks like the Rally OEM rubber on different rims. Your lightbar rocks, BTW. I may have to do the same thing, as I never seem to get home before dark anymore...

^^ Yup. I really like the stock tires, they just wear too fast. I had other tires on these rims but when I got my new set of rally rubber I baked them off and put these on. They just look better with the stock rally body.

Blackcat1478:
Yes, they are always on when the car is turned on. I know the part you are talking about, the on/off switch. If you can find it on e-bay, get it. Its a good part that works as described. Its sortof a relay that uses the radio signal on whatever channel its plugged in to, to turn the lights on and off. I have one but dhave never used it. Maybe I will on this car.

The other option if you dont NEED to turn the lights on and off from the radio is to simply not plug the lights in when you put the body on.

The light bar doesnt have a droop in the centre. Its just the way the pics are taken. However, the 2 middle lights DO stick out farther than the ones on the sides. This is how traxxas built it to fit properly in the Stampede 4X4 front bumper (which is what its made for). It just happens to mount quite easily on this body as well.

I figured the chassis brace I installed would be more effective combined with aluminum shock towers. So i picked up a set of STRC towers. I trust their quality and they come in blue that matches the Traxxas parts and tower stocks them. They installed smoothly, no surprises.

Then I tossed a new LCG Slash 4X4 into the shopping cart and upped my discount. Im going to put the chassis, bulkheads and driveshaft in my spare parts bin. And I stole the new GTR shocks for my Rally. And finally I threw on a set of STRC 17mm adapters. The Integy ones I had were crap (gasp!!!). These ones are sweet and appear to be well designed. Put a set of Ofna 5 spoke wheels with Sweep Racing tires on it and it looks awesome. This will be my onroad setup.

Looking good dude !!! Them black 5 spokes are nice. You got a part number on the 17mm adapters and rims? I'm trying to figure out how/what to use for some drift wheels and tires..... Maybe something with the 17mm rims would work because I'm having no luck with a 12mm 1/10 setup....

Hey guys. I really started to miss the smoothness of a sensored motor like I had in this car when I first got it. But the novak system was not what I was hoping it would be. KSB51rl and i had been talking about the MMP and how it does running a sensored motor. He said it worked great and I trust him, so I thought id give it a go.

I found a very lightly used Viper 5.5XL for a great price. I dont know much about these motors other than any review I read was good. So I figured, why not give it a try. Its a 5.5 turn XL series motor which translates into 3700kv. As with all sensored motors, its 2 pole.

First thing I found out was that this motor is long. Its at least as long as the castle 2400kv motor. This meant my previous MMP/3800kv chassis layout wouldnt work. So I moved the RX box to the front of the chassis and made a new ESC plate for the MMP that still allows it to be removed without unsticking the ESC. Just 3 screws and its out.

The next thing I figured out was that the plastic section of my centre diff, the part that fits into the king heads oversized bearing, was melted. The centre diff could literally rattle around inside the bearing. So that has to be fixed. I dont have that part for the diff so for now im going back to my slipper setup. Which, is no where near as good for onroad handling as the diff was.

After I got all that cleaned up and got the motor/ESC/RX all installed it was time for a run. After nearly 150 cycles my SPC 5400mah 50C packs were still performing excellent but I just couldnt stop staring at those new SPC 6500mah 50C packs Tom is selling so I ordered up 4 of those and all I can say is SWEET. They perform better than my last set of packs but what I like most is how they look AND the rubber grommets where the wires exit the case. They just have an absolutely top of the line look and feel and for the price, your just crazy not to own a few.

I took the car out to a local parking lot thats lit at night. Too dark for pictures but perfect for some uninterrupted running. I got 20 minutes out of a 6500mah pack. So I can definitely tell the sensored setup is not as efficient as a sensorless setup. But, its better than what i was getting with the novak system. At 3700kv I had expected this system to feel very similar to my 3800 on top end and It did. Top speeds felt nearly identical. More than fast enough in the low 40's im guessing.

Where this motor really shines is, as with all sensored motors, its smoothness. You can literally crawl at 1mph and it doesnt jump or lurch. It just smoothly crawls along and acceleration is butter smooth also. The MMP does an amazing job of running a sensored motor. After 20 minutes of running motor was no where near overheating though it was quite warm. ESC was warm as well but again, no where near excessive. Its clear this system draws alot of amps as even my battery was warm.

After the first pack was done I put in the 2nd one and ran the car around at medium speeds without the body. This had a huge effect on heat and actually allowed the motor to cool quite a bit. Obviously that big body and relatively well sealed bumper area are limiting air flow to the motor in a big way and contributing to excessive heat build up.

I have the timing on this motor (which is adjustable) set to the lowest it can go, I believe its 15 degrees. Timing on the ESC is set to 0, punch control to 0. Overall no surprises with this setup. Makes an excellent combination for a person who wants a good mix of power and smoothness.

I also found a nice benefit to the chassis brace. Its great for plugging in your battery OVER the brace to keep it from falling onto the exposed driveshaft. Hadnt done this before but it worked great. Keeps the wires totally out of the chassis.

Had this thing out again last night. I switched over to running the 17mm adapters and GPR premounts. Almost got a full pack through before one of the 17mm adapters fell off. I found all the parts but had to head home by the time I got everything back to the truck.

Report on the tires:
They need to heat up. When you first take off with them cold they are like drift tires. Then, after a few donuts they get warm and grip is actually really good. They will slide when you want them to, or hook up when you want them to, all dependant on your throttle inputs. They appear to wear pretty well. I put nearly a full 6500mah pack through them, mostly drifting and they show no signs of wear at all. Its not a comprehensive report on wear but I definitely saw wear on my stock tires after one pack. Im not crazy about how they look with white rims. I have another set on 5 spoke ofna rims (as pictured above) but they arent glued yet and I think its going to be a pain, ill get to it at some point. These tires have nearly no sidewall at all. So when the car cartwheels on the pavement the force of impact is transferred directly to the chassis and its components. I actually bent an axle in one crash. Ive crashed way harder with the stock tires and havent broken anything at all.

With the 17mm adapters and GPR tires my motor actually got a bit hotter than with the stock setup. I attribute this to way more full throttle with alot less forward motion (drifting). I think im going to attempt to vent my blue rally body to help get some air under the hood. Not really sure how yet. But ill come up with something.

After 2 full packs on this thing in a parking lot I did have a few things in need of attention. Both left side (drivers left) shock mount posts on the STRC shock towers had come very loose. At first I thought they were bent... but they were just loose. I think some loctite would be a very good idea on these parts.

The slipper sucks for onroad driving compared to the diff. With the diff the car would setup into a corner and steer through as much as you wanted. With the slipper the car tends to push alot. When drifting I also notice the car wants to spin out far more often than with the diff... so hopefully I can find the diff parts I need and find a way to prevent the same failure as what I had before.

I got a small, crappy video on my iPhone that ill attempt to upload. dont hold your breath, its not good. But it shows some decent air off a curb.

Ran the car again last night and after a full 6500mah pack at mostly WOT throttle, drift style driving, the motor was 160... not TOO bad. Its pretty fast setup this way so I know I could drop down a tooth and not be hurt TOO much but for now ill leave it like this and look at venting the body. That will make a huge difference im sure.

Heres the video I promised in an earlier thread. Sorry it sucks... there was only one place to lean my phone to video.

Hey Pave, just read the whole thread! Nice build! I too have put way to much cash into my rally.. i am sitting on a MMM 2200kv though.. running 20/52 on 6s and foam tires! She is an animal! i also run a set of proline badlands on stock orange wheels with 4s for my bashing. I broke a rear drive axle on 2s with the badlands on a hard take off and decided to run the tekno drive axles all around and put the Proline shocks on it. Love this little car..

Havent been on in a LONG time. Life is busy these days. I recently started shooting 3 gun competitions, have been spending a ton of quality time with my 2 little girls and have been traveling all over the globe for work. Not alot of time to run RC's.

Still, I got motivated this afternoon so I FINALLY did the repairs needed from my last run with the rally. New axle, re-attached the MMP to the mounting plate, FINALLY installed the FLM Aluminum centre diff cup ive had sitting here forever. I also went back to the stock tires on Proline wheels and painted a new Prographics body I bought on ebay a month or so ago.

I went through all the current paint colors I have in stock and was waivering between something classy, or something flashy. Im a big fan of understated looks so I decided to go with a simple pearl white/black scheme. The graphics pre-printed on the body are all black, so I just sprayed the pearl white and was done. I think it looks great. Especially with the black wheels.

Havent been on in a LONG time. Life is busy these days. I recently started shooting 3 gun competitions, have been spending a ton of quality time with my 2 little girls and have been traveling all over the globe for work. Not alot of time to run RC's.

Still, I got motivated this afternoon so I FINALLY did the repairs needed from my last run with the rally. New axle, re-attached the MMP to the mounting plate, FINALLY installed the FLM Aluminum centre diff cup ive had sitting here forever. I also went back to the stock tires on Proline wheels and painted a new Prographics body I bought on ebay a month or so ago.

I went through all the current paint colors I have in stock and was waivering between something classy, or something flashy. Im a big fan of understated looks so I decided to go with a simple pearl white/black scheme. The graphics pre-printed on the body are all black, so I just sprayed the pearl white and was done. I think it looks great. Especially with the black wheels.

Nice work Pave!

Is that diff cup the one I donated last winter? It was a sharp looking anodized red.

It sure is my man. I was feeling so guilty about not actually using it after you gave it to me. It wasnt because i didnt need it. I just didnt have the time to be rebuilding a diff, then swapping it out etc etc. But I found an evening that worked. Im glad I did. Its a MUCH better piece than the stock part and I know it wont fail on me. Gave me an opportunity to replace the bearing in my King Headz mount as well. She was pretty gritty.

I only ever run 2s in this car. It's more than enough for someone not doing high speed passes all day.

Life has just been busy lately. If I have a few spare hours I tend to spend it either playing with my kids, cleaning the house, loading bullets or passing out on the couch. The idea of getting motivated enough to cart my gear out to the car, then out to a good bashing spot... Too much. Once my youngest, Alice (8mo) gets a bit older and is a bit more self sufficient I'm sure I'll have more time. I miss it. That's for sure.

Yeah... its my first truck getting back into the hobby. It means alot to me but I just dont have time to run it like it should be. My buddies are all into 1/8 truggies and MT's so the little pede is just outclassed and outgunned running with them. Im keeping the ERBE though... and the Rally of course.

Been an up and down thing with the rally lately. I drove it and liked it, but then decided to sell it. Then, I saw this proline Bronco body for a slash that i really liked. Which sparked my interest in this chassis again. So I installed a set of slash 4X4 bumpers I had laying around, put on a set of Proline wheels and maxxis SCT tires, got a set of proline extended body mounts and the bronco body. Technically, the car is now a slash... but its always been a rally so I'm posting it here. Even in its current state it will only ever get driven like a rally so I still consider it one. Just with an SUV body.

I tried my hand at liquid mask for the first time on this one as well and its safe to say ill never go back to masking tape again. Its SO much better. With that said, my paint job was a 7/10 until I decided to apply the window tint. Its never good to paint in extreme cold but its -22 here and obviously I can't paint inside. Everything went well until the window tint related funny with the cold air and even just a LIGHT dusting just pooled up and ran all over the place. it soaked through the white, even through a thick backing coat, and just ruined the whole thing. its good from far but far from good. I took careful pics to make it look as good as possible. But lesson learned. And, I feel like it was a good test case for the liquid mask. Heres the pics.

So the plan at this point is to attempt to salvage this thing as best as possible. I sprayed a few more coats of tint and darkened things up. that covered alot of the issues with the actual windows. But the white of the roof is ruined from the top. So I'm going to mask it all off again and spray it flat white from the outside. I know this is problematic and will just end up getting scratched off when it flips but because its white underneath it will last longer than spraying a different color from the outside. Its something I've learned with crawlers recently and it works. As long as the color on top is the same as the colour underneath it tends to look good longer.

Just picked up a new traxxas 4 pole VXL system from Dollarhobbyz. Not sure if it will go in this vehicle or my 2X4 stampede. What do you guys think? Is it capable enough for this truck? I like the idea of having all traxxas electronics in my stampede but the extra space in this truck would also be nice so I can move the RX box back down in the chassis.